Gorgeous photo by @thecrazyreader!
Hey fairies!
Welcome back to day 4 of our readalong of The Adventures of Amina al-Sirafi by Shannon Chakraborty! I think todays section will be intense! Get comfy and let’s go on an adventure!
Today we’re reading from Chapter 20 to the end of Chapter 28.
Please be warned, the following section will include spoilers for The Adventures of Amina al-Sirafi by Shannon Chakraborty, from chapters 20 to 28. Please only read on if you’ve finished this section!
-!SPOILERS!-
What are the chances that Amina just stumbles across Dunya???? I mean, it’s probably in part due to Raksh’s ability to sense things but still! I’m excited!
Oh it’s all coming out now. Salima just neglected to mention she was forcing Dunya into a marriage.
More revelations ensue, Falco summoning sea beasts, Dunya telling him of spells of knowledge if you syphon the lifeblood of an elder, the Moon of Saba is a washbasin…
Amina doesn’t seem to grasp why marrying the governor is so horrific to Dunya, Dunya tells Amina it’s not that she can’t marry the governor, but that she can’t marry any man. That’s when Amina notices Dunya is dressing in men’s clothes, and realises Dunya may not be a girl at all.
Before Amina can blow up Raksh for tricking literally the whole crew when Amina took him on board the last time… they notice a creature in the sea. It’s Falco’s beast.
I didn’t expect a purple tentacled creature to be the way the Marawati goes down, but here we are. I also didn’t expect Amina to call Falco a ‘fish-brained wizard’. What an insult. I love it!
Falco throws Amina overboard and when she comes to, she is lost at sea. Eventually she finds some land… but there’s a twist. Raksh is here too. They really do seem linked in some magical way!
Not only is she alone on an island full of demons, including her husband, but her estranged husband is lightly suggesting intercourse to pass the time. Read the room, Raksh, read the room.
Things really aren’t getting better for Amina. It turns out if Falco obtains the Moon of Saba, he can enslave not only Raksh, but all of his kin… that includes Marjana.
Amina and Raksh come up with a plan, they will go to Raksh’s court and seek help. Raksh helps Amina prepare and then they’re off.
It doesn’t really go as planned, they have no interest in stopping Falco and deny Amina’s request. Back to square one, I guess?
Before Amina can fall to her death, another peri catches her. The peri, Khayzur, returns to the court with Amina to try and argue her case. With the help of Raksh, they reach a deal. Amina, now a transgression herself, can return to Socotra if she retrieves five transgressions for them.
Do you think this deal with the court is a good idea? Five trangressions seems like a lot on top of everything else Amina has going on.
Did you suspect that Salima was keeping more secrets about Dunya?
What do you think is next for Amina?
I have feelings, many feelings. Most of them involve feeling nervous on behalf of Amina, she doesn’t half get herself into some hairy situations!
Let’s see what she’ll get herself into tomorrow… Catch up with you all then!
Love,
Shannon
Well, the deal was better than dying and it sets us up for more books! I love this world and definitely want to see more of it with Amina so I’m quite happy about that.
Yeah, I figured there was more Salina was withholding. She wasn’t very forthcoming at either interaction and has straight up lied a few times.
I think Amina’s going to succeed in destroying the Moon of Saba, but I don’t think she’ll get that million dinar payout for bringing Dunya back. Actually, I think Dunya will end up joining her crew and helping to track down the Transgressions using her family’s knowledge and history. Plus Dunya will finally be able to present herself the way she wants to and won’t be tied down to a female identity. I’m very excited for the adventures coming after this book!
I’m not sure if the deal was a good idea, but at this point nothing seems like a good idea, and that everything is going wrong. I do think that Salima is probably keeping more secrets. And for what happens next for Amina, I hope that she manages to stop Falco, and that she gets to go home to Marjana. And I hope that her friends are fairly safe, and that they will survive.
1. I think it was the best possible outcome she could’ve hoped for in the end. Five does and doesn’t seem like a lot. The only thing is that Amina can’t chose them herself so I hope in the future it won’t be long voyages or that she can take Marjana with her, so they won’t be seperated very long. I also think that once she defeats Falco and destroys the first, so won’t have that much going on anymore.
2. No, I did think Dunya had multiple reasons to want to escape such as marriage, but I hadn’t thought there would’ve been more secrets Salima had kept.
3. Some big adventure and battle against Falco, which she will win (not easily) and going home to Marjana. Also, when will Raksh finally learn he has a daughter hahaha?
Well, she didn’t really has a choice so I guess this deal was a good idea (also, that mean more books and adventures for us to follow!)
I do not trust Salima so this did not surprise me even though I wasn’t expecting it.
Now Amina needs to take her crew back !
I have to say that I’m enjoying this book so so much, I didn’t expect it at all ! Even though Amina faces some perillous situations, I am not nervous about them but just so excited to see what comes next !
Do you think this deal with the court is a good idea? Five trangressions seems like a lot on top of everything else Amina has going on.
Five is a lot and I think with a little less than 100 pages left it may be rushed or we have have a series (I know this is a planned series). But I don’t think book one will be fully wrapped up.
Did you suspect that Salima was keeping more secrets about Dunya?
I thought something was odd but I did not expect the creepy marriage.
What do you think is next for Amina?
Honestly, idk but I don’t think she will be reunited with her family anytime soon. I do think her secret of her daughter will soon be revealed to her father. Then we will have DRAMA!
She didn’t have much choice at this point but the deal keeps them alive.
Salima hasn’t been forthcoming with her actual intentions and lied many times. I sure hope there aren’t more surprises from Salima!
More adventures! I hope she gets to see her daughter soon though!
Do you think this deal with the court is a good idea? Five trangressions seems like a lot on top of everything else Amina has going on. – it does seem like a lot tbh, not sure how she will manage to find 5 trangressions. Although if she is with Raksh maybe his “luck” will help with this.
Did you suspect that Salima was keeping more secrets about Dunya? I did not guess that Salima wasn’t revealing everything. I wouldn’t be surprised if she is still hiding things!
What do you think is next for Amina? Not sure about this one, it seems as though she has some additional strength now? Maybe she’ll discover some new powers
I wonder if there was something similar to that bronze door from the cave that she wandered through while half-crazed & lost at sea. Raksh seems more at home on the vividly colored mythical island. Raksh’s kin sounds interesting, too, especially as concerns Marjana. The bird court was ridiculous.
Daily Q&A:
Q:
1.) Do you think this deal with the court is a good idea? Five trangressions seems like a lot on top of everything else Amina has going on.
2.) Did you suspect that Salima was keeping more secrets about Dunya?
3.) What do you think is next for Amina?
A:
1.) I would’ve probably been more adamant about sticking to only 3 since she’s weakened by age, injury, & has a family, but I’m sure it’ll make for an interesting trilogy’s worth of adventures.
2.) Yes. She was blatantly refusing to even entertain the idea that anything other than what she insisted on happened which gave to the reasoning she knew exactly why this teenage girl would become a runaway.
3.) Sounds like she plans to try to ally with the Socotra pirates to take on Falco & his monstrosities. After that, I’m sure will include Dunya’s proof of life to Salima, so she has to release Amina from her threat & pay up. After that, probably teaming up with Dunya to hunt/destroy the remaining 4 Transgressors she traded for her freedom, so she has more time to spend with her family. ??♀️
Anima just CANT catch a break! Momma needs to go back home and be with her family. I do love her crazy adventures though soooooo hopefully getting these five transgressions wont be too bad. Maybe once she gets the Moon of Saba she can bring Marjana on her travels.
Salmia has been a cheeky Grandmother holding all the cards close to the chest. She HAD to be holding back info about Dunya. If she couldnt even admit that her grandchild ran away there is no way she will admit that Dunya cant marry the Governor. Do not like this woman. Horrible blackmailer.
I hope that Amina and Raksh can get back to the crew in time to stop Falco. Whatever Anima is planning better be big to deal with all this scary magic that is being thrown around. Also can we keep Khayzur, he is a treat! Very excited to see how this one will end.
my thoughts while reading:
– the daeva mention!! omg!!?
my answers to the questions:
– i’m not so sure whether it’s a good idea, but i guess we’ll see!
– i figured salima was hiding something, i mean people don’t run away for no reason
– no idea what’s next for amina, but i’m excited to find out!
Do you think this deal with the court is a good idea? Five trangressions seems like a lot on top of everything else Amina has going on. — Ok, honestly, I really hope that this magical island would have been some hallucination. Sure, with Raksh, a somewhat demon, and sea beasts there should be space for more and other creatures. But those peries are just a bit too much for my taste.
The deal is probably a good one, better than falling to her death. This way, she has the possibility to see her daughter again and save her crew as well.
Did you suspect that Salima was keeping more secrets about Dunya? — As soon as Salima showed up at Amina house I suspected, that there will be more to the whole story, than she said. At this point, I do hope that Dunya doesn’t have to go back to her grandmother, but rather stay with Amina.
What do you think is next for Amina? — I hope she’ll be successful. But let’s put it that way, if she hadn’t been, she couldn’t tell her story, all her adventures.
As all other decisions made this far, i do not expect it to be good, but definitely life saving. I’m curious if Marjana will get roped into it. Will Amina retrieve all 5? If not, will we have the Adventures of Marjana? Will Raksh stick around to help and will he ever learn of his daughter’s existence? I’m just at a point of a million questions within a fantastical background lol.
The deal with the court probably wasn’t the best idea but I think they’re out of options at this point!
Yes I definitely had a feeling that Salima was keeping secrets, especially after she lied in the first place.
I’m hoping Amina will be able to rescue her crew and Dunya and get back home to Marjana, but I’m not sure how all that will pan out now that Raksh is back on the scene and she has to find five more transgressions!